US pharma firm Merck to cut jobs as part of $3 bn cost-saving plan
NEW YORK (AFP)US pharmaceutical firm Merck announced on Tuesday that it would reduce jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan aimed at reducing costs by $3 billion a year by 2027."The Company approved a new restructuring program, in which it expects to eliminate certain administrative, sales and R&D positions," said a company statement, slightly lowering its revenue forecast for 2025.The company did not say how many posts would be affected, but added that it would continue to hire employees "into new roles across strategic growth areas of the business."The plan will see Merck reduce its "global real estate footprint," and "continue to optimise its manufacturing network."The announcement came after Washington announced on Sunday that it had signed a trade deal with the European Union that set a 15 percent tariff on most EU goods imported into the United States, including pharmaceuticals.US President Donald Trump has in the past threatened a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals, and a US investigation into those levies is ongoing.Merck's revenue reached $15.8 billion in the second quarter, down two percent year-on-year. This was above the consensus expectations by FactSet.The company was hit by declining sales of its HPV vaccine Gardasil.The vaccine brought in $1.1 billion in the second quarter (down 55 percent year-on-year), hit by declining demand in China and competition from generic drugs in international markets.
Conversely, sales of the cancer drug Keytruda, a heavyweight in oncology, jumped 9% to nearly $8 billion from April to the end of June.
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